History Main / CirclesOfHell

* In ''TabletopGame/WerewolfTheApocalypse'', the Black Spiral Labyrinth represents the tormented mind of the Wyrm. The labyrinth is divided into nine circles, each of which tests and torments visitors until their minds are broken. For example, the circle of endurance pushes visitors to their physical and psychological limits, while the circle of loyalty forces visitors to choose between (what's left of) their humanity and fealty to the Wyrm. Black Spiral Dancers pass through the circles to gain rank, but only a handful have ever passed through all nine circles. Gaia Garou consider dancing the Black Spiral a {{fate worse than death}}.

* In ''WebAnimation/HazbinHotel'' and ''WebAnimation/HelluvaBoss'' Hell is divided into at least seven rings traveled between by giant elevators. However, deceased human sinners are confined to the Pride ring (the highest), causing an OverpopulationCrisis that is mitigated by annual culls from Heaven. Hellborn demons like imps and royals have free movement between rings. In ''Helluva Boss'' Greed is shown to be a crumbling capitalist hellscape while Wrath appears to be mostly agricultural and Lust is known for their nightclubs.

* ''WebOriginal/CodexInversus'':

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'' and all the levels of Robot Hell. Robot Devil's VillainSong specifically describes levels number 1 (where smokers of cigars are thems themselves smoked in giant cigars), 2 (where gamblers, cheaters, and forgers of bogus [=IOUs=] are strapped to a wheel to determine their torment), and 5 (where sellers of bootleg music have their hardrives used as turntables).

** Before the Collapse, Hell was divided into nine Circles where sinners were punished. After the Collapse forcibly merged all planes into the material world, the Rings collapse and fell into ruin. In the modern day, little is left of them but vast derelict pillars in the lands of the Infernal Empire, although one, the Ninth, still endures as a huge unbroken arch of stone above the city of Goetia.

** The {{Trope Namer|s}}, if not the {{Trope Codifier}}s, are the nine circles Dante traverses in ''Inferno'', which start from the top with the offenses that least distance man from God, and gradually get graver and graver until it reaches the Earth's core, which is reserved for direct traitors to God like Lucifer and Judas. While it's often depicted as a series of vertically stacked discs, as in the page image, Dante's Hell is a subterranean bowl, with the levels descending in rings, so they are literally circles of hell (except the bottom one, which is a frozen lake). Some of these are divided into secondary circles. The Seventh Circle, for the violent, is divided into rings for the violent against others, the violent against themselves, and the violent agains nature, art, and God. The Eight Circle, for fraud, is divided into ten "evil ditches" (''male bolgie'') for specific types of hucksters, thieves and cheats.

** The {{Trope Namer|s}}, if not the {{Trope Codifier}}s, are the nine circles Dante traverses in ''Inferno'', which start from the top with the offenses that least distance man from God, and gradually get graver and graver until it reaches the Earth's core, which is reserved for direct traitors to God like Lucifer and Judas. While it's often depicted as a series of vertically stacked discs, as in the page image, Dante's Hell is a subterranean bowl, with the levels descending in rings, so they are literally circles of hell (except the bottom one, which is a frozen lake). Some of these are divided into secondary circles. The Seventh Ring, for the violent, is divided into circles for the violent against others, the violent against themselves, and the violent agains nature, art, and God. The Eight Ring, for fraud, is divided into ten "evil ditches" (''male bolgie'') for specific types of hucksters, thieves and cheats.

** The {{Trope Namer|s}}, if not the {{Trope Codifier}}s, are the nine circles Dante traverses in ''Inferno'', which start from the top with the offenses that least distance man from God, and gradually get graver and graver until it reaches the Earth's core, which is reserved for direct traitors to God like Lucifer and Judas. While it's often depicted as a series of vertically stacked discs, as in the page image, Dante's Hell is a subterranean bowl, with the levels descending in rings, so they are literally circles of hell (except the bottom one, which is a frozen lake). Some of these are divided into secondary circles; the Seventh Ring, for the violent, is divided into circles for the violent against others, the violent against themselves, and the violent agains nature, art, and God. The Eight Circle, for fraud, is divided into ten "evil ditches" (''male bolgie'') for specific types of hucksters, thieves and cheats.

** The {{Trope Namer|s}}, if not the {{Trope Codifier}}s, are the nine circles Dante traverses in ''Inferno'', which start from the top with the offenses that least distance man from God, and gradually get graver and graver until it reaches the Earth's core, which is reserved for direct traitors to God like Lucifer and Judas. While it's often depicted as a series of vertically stacked discs, as in the page image, Dante's Hell is a subterranean bowl, with the levels descending in rings, so they are literally circles of hell (except the bottom one, which is a frozen lake).

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'' and all the levels of Robot Hell.

* In both ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer}}'' and ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'', the [[GodOfEvil Chaos God]] [[SenseFreak Slaanesh]]'s palace is described in these terms, ringed by the [[ArcNumber six]] Circles of Desire: Avidity, Gluttony, Carnality, Paramountcy, Vainglory and finally Indolence. Each layer serves as a defensive mechanism, so that an intruder may be turned into a lifeless golden statue after lingering too long in Avidity, fall prey to the [[HornyDevils Daemonettes]] inhabiting Carnality, or become [[LotusEaterMachine trapped in Indolence until their body crumbles to dust]].

* In Jodi Picoult's ''The Tenth Circle'', Daniel, one of the main characters, creates a comic book about traveling through the circles of hell to rescue his daughter. It reflects off the struggles he's having at home.

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* Circles exist in ''Webcomic/AndShineHeavenNow'''s version of Hell. There's one specifically for people that get in the way of Integra's mission. Committing that sin takes precedent over any other sins the human or vampire may have committed (explained as because she's on a mission from God, fighting her is akin to fighting God). One of the fangirl story arcs takes place in this hell as a way for fans to gush over some of the TV series villains (and Helena, who was only there due to a clerical error). [[spoiler:By the end of the comic it's very crowded in that circle.]]

[[caption-width-right:325:If you think this is bad, you should see the [[UpToEleven other]] [[NumberOfTheBeast place]].]]

It's not bad enough to have just one plane of eternal torment. Many times, {{Hell}} has multiple layers, with those layers being tailored toward punishing certain kinds of evil, and the ones further down holding even more horrible punishments than the upper layers. FireAndBrimstoneHell is usually just one of the lesser levels; sometimes they ''really'' get [[CoolAndUnusualPunishment creative]].

* DC's crossover ''ComicBook/UnderworldUnleashed'' used this model for Neron's hell.

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* ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'': The Upper Planes, both good and bad (and neutral and lawful and chaotic) are almost always divided into different layers. However, a soul's actions in life determine which ''plane'' they end up on, usually not which layer of that plane. Those who lived a LawfulEvil existence wind up in Baator where their immortal soul is tortured to empower the devils who rule the plane, evil warlords may face an eternity of mindless conflict on the Infernal Battlefield of Acheron, ChaoticGood fighters meanwhile get to enjoy a WarriorHeaven in Ysgard, and TrueNeutral souls gravitate toward the Concordant Domain of the Outlands at the hub of the Great Wheel of planes.

* In ''WebAnimation/{{HFIL}}, a spinoff of ''WebVideo/DragonBallZAbridged'', HFIL is a specific circle of hell made for the "morally-compromised malefactors" of DBZA ([[MyFriendsAndZoidberg and Raditz]]) to stay while Goz and Mez try to reform them. It's honestly quite pleasant, aside from the {{Power Limiter}}s keeping them from escaping, the mandatory therapy sessions and sharing circles, and [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking being forced to play beer pong with Shasta]].

* Referenced, naturally enough, in Creator/LarryNiven and Jerry Pournelle's ''Literature/{{Inferno}}'', which is a 20th century take on Dante.

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* ''VideoGame/{{ULTRAKILL}}'''s levels take place in the nine circles of Hell, and the layers of Hell are split into three to serve as a single Act. For example, Act 1 contains Limbo, Lust, and Gluttony, along with an intro level.

** The {{Trope Namer|s}}, if not the {{Trope Codifier}}s, are the nine circles Dante traverses in ''Inferno'', which start from the top with the offenses that least distance man from God, and gradually get graver and graver until it reaches the Earth's core, which is reserved for direct traitors to God like Lucifer and Judas. while it's often depicted as a series of vertically stacked discs, as in the page image, Dante's Hell is a subterranean bowl, with the levels descending in rings, so they are literally circles of hell (except the bottom one, which is a frozen lake).

* This is a very common trope in the "exploring Hell" genre of InteractiveFiction, which was bizarrely popular in the [=TADS=] days.